A salmonella outbreak has sickened more than two dozen children and adults in the Los Angeles area, health officials said on Thursday.
Among the sick, 15 were sent to hospitals for treatment, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department (LACPHD).
The outbreak was traced to a kitchen that supplies food to 29 preschools operated by the Volunteers of America of Greater Los Angeles, a faith-based nonprofit organization, said David Dassey of the LACPHD's communicable disease control department.
County public health officials inspected the kitchen, which voluntarily closed at the end of last week and reopened Tuesday, said Bob Pratt, president of the Volunteers of America of Greater Los Angeles.
Dassey said public health investigators were still in the process of determining the extent of the outbreak, which seemed togrow by the hour.
As of Thursday noon, there were 25 confirmed cases, but "that will only go up," he said.
The first reported case was reported on Oct. 15 and days later more cases showed up, according to Dassey.
"It had the potential for a broader implication," Dassey said.
Further investigation uncovered a significant number of absences among the schools' students and staff, he said. The kitchen and all of the schools are now undergoing a thorough cleaning by health inspectors.
"They've been extraordinarily cooperative," Dassey said. "Things are going quite smoothly."
Los Angeles County usually has about 800 documented cases of salmonella poisoning per year, though mild cases can be written off as an upset stomach and go unreported, he said.
There are usually between two and four outbreaks affecting about two-dozen people each per year.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours. It could be fatal in about 1 percent of documented victims.
Salmonella is a bacteria -- usually found in poultry, eggs and meat -- that attacks the stomach and intestines. It causes diarrhea or constipation, headaches, nausea, fever, stomach cramps and vomiting, and is typically spread by improper disinfecting in food preparation.
U.S. Media reported about a fortnight ago that the government urged consumers to thoroughly cook frozen chicken dinners after 32people in 12 states were sickened with salmonella poisoning.
Source:Xinhua
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